Talk:Ezra A. Carman

Civil War Service

Under the Civil War service section we find this passage:

He led a brigade of the 1st Division during Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. In this period the XX Corps became a part of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum's Army of Georgia. After Savannah, Georgia, fell to Sherman's command, Carman was ordered to Nashville on "special duty." Whether the failure of XX Corps, especially of Carman's brigade, to prevent William J. Hardee's escape from Savannah led to this transfer is open to question. His advance had been stopped by Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler near Izard's Mill, and Carman had not renewed the attack.

Citation for this passage is Jones, page 145. Yet, that page in Jones does not mention Carman. In fact, the only mention of Carmen in all of Jones' history of the siege of Savannah is on page 136:

"Two regiments of Gen. Geary's division occupied the upper end of Hutchinson's island, and Carman's brigade was pushed forward to Argyle island."

That citation does not support the passage given in the Wikipedia article. Furthermore, we can rate Jones' history, written in the 1870s, as very bias in favor of the Confederate interpretation of events.

Consulting "Southern Storm" by Noah Andre Trudeau, published in 2008 and reflecting sources not known or reviewed by Jones, we find that Carman's efforts on Argyle Island and into South Carolina were in fact unsanctioned by his superiors (Nathaniel Jackson or Slocum, the Twentieth Corps commander). At several intervals, Carman was advised to restrain or even withdraw his brigade. The context of the time and place is that Sherman intended to lay siege to Savannah and had ordered his commanders to simply pressure Confederate lines as heavy artillery was transferred from Hilton Head to the Savannah siege lines. Carman characterized his efforts as a reconnaissance in force, and was not aimed at severing the Confederate line of retreat. Trudeau cites dispatches and reports from the Federal records in the days in question. Jones only cites the Confederate orders.

Also see "The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Volume I: South Mountain" edited by Tom Clemens for a brief biography of Carmen. Of this episode of Carman's military career, Clemens writes:

"Carman served as a brigade commander on Sherman's famous "March to the Sea." After the war he claimed his brigade could have prevented Confederate General Hardee's men from escaping the city of Savannah, and blamed Sherman for fumbling the opportunity." (Page xii of the preface.)

I believe the passage should be broken down to read:

"He led Second Brigade, First Division, Twentieth Corps, Army of Georgia, during Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. During the siege of Savannah, Carman's brigade conducted a reconnaissance in force into South Carolina, coming close to the Confederate lines of retreat from the city. Due to conflicting guidance from Sherman and limited situational awareness, Carman's gains were not followed up, allowing the evacuation of Savannah."

Proper citation should be to Trudeau, pages 406-7, 414-16, 471-73, and 502-3; and Carmen, page xii.